On Saturday, the Bektemir district of Tashkent hosted the presentation of one of the capital's major urban development projects — the concept of 'Daryo Bo'yi Business City'. This was reported by the city administration's press service.
The project envisages comprehensive development of the area along a 24-kilometer stretch of the Chirchiq River. Plans include two-sided landscaping of the coastal zone, construction of residential and business districts, and development of public spaces, transport, and engineering infrastructure.
"The project is aimed at ensuring that the development of the capital serves the people: creating comfortable places for living, recreation, work, walking, and family leisure, generating new jobs, and developing the service sector, tourism, trade, and entrepreneurship," the statement said.
"Daryo Bo'yi Business City will allow us to unlock the potential of coastal areas in a new way, expand the urban environment, connect new residential and business areas with existing infrastructure, and create additional attractive places for residents and guests of the capital," the administration noted.
The event was attended by Timur Butunbaev, Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration for Water Supply Reform; Tashkent Mayor Shavkat Umurzakov; district mayors; heads of relevant capital departments and organizations; as well as representatives of design and contracting organizations.
After studying the design solutions, recommendations were made to improve the concept, taking into account public convenience, safety, environmental sustainability, and economic efficiency, the administration said.
It is worth recalling that the plans for the project were approved after President Shavkat Mirziyoyev's visit to the Sergeli and Zangiota districts on May 29, 2020. At that time, it was reported that a 16-kilometer section of the river passing through the Bektemir and Sergeli districts would be narrowed to 65–80 meters. The resulting area (reportedly 400 hectares) was intended for this project. In the same year, a directorate for the project was established. In May 2021, the project was presented to the president, and it was announced that implementation would take two years.
The new concept extends the project length to 24 km, also covering the Yashnobod district.
"Today, the water level [in the Chirchiq River] is lower than previous indicators. The riverbanks are very long, but unfortunately, due to human intervention, they are now in a deplorable state. The surrounding area has turned into a quarry, with a lot of machinery visible. This causes great damage to the ecology, as natural resources — soil, gravel — are being taken away," the Business City directorate noted in 2020.
According to legislation, changing riverbeds, extracting minerals, and other activities affecting the state of water bodies are only permitted after obtaining permission from environmental, water management, geology, and mineral resources authorities.
The slides presented by the administration show that the project may be divided into the following parts: River City, Lake City, Villa City, and Tech City. Its total cost was estimated at over 1.4 trillion soums, but this figure may increase due to the extension of the length.
Below are presentation slides taken from the administration's video.
The project to create 12 artificial lakes in Tashkent was discussed separately.
Source: www.gazeta.uz